Battle Lines 3 of 52
by Echowarrior
Summary: Starscream begins building his plans against Megatron as the Autobots and Decepticons square off for their first major battle on Earth, with another human discovering their presence.
1. Chapter 1

Battle Lines

A Transformers: Armada Story

By William Rendfeld

The Earth, a shimmering sphere in the void of space. A shining blue world, teaming with life and energy. Unbeknownst to the majority of its inhabitants, the human race, they are no longer alone. The Transformers have arrived.

* * *

In the deserts of New Mexico, several miles away from an American military base, a sleek, red-and-silver colored jet lanced through the air at subsonic speeds. After a few short minutes, it slowed and transformed.

Starscream looked at the surrounding landscape, content that no one had noticed him, then looked to the small scanner on his arm.

"Now, according to these readings, the Mini-Con pod should be right about here," Starscream noted to himself. Activating his wing blade, he said, "I'd best get started then."

* * *

Elsewhere, Mt. Saint Hilary silently stood: the shadows of the approaching sun further cloaking from view the _Ark_, the ship and temporary base of the Autobots. Outside the ship, two lone figures silently checked over the ship.

"Well, looks like we made it through intact," Smokescreen noted. "We can take off again whenever we want."

"Don't expect it to be too soon, Smokescreen," Red Alert reminded him. "Remember, we've still got a job to do here on Earth. We can't just up and leave."

"I remember, Red," Smokescreen replied. "I may be a little light-headed, but even I don't forget the important stuff."

* * *

Within the _Ark_, another Autobot, Scavenger, silently checked over the sensor grid. His young charges, Hot Shot and Blurr, were out on recon in the nearby area, leaving him inside the base with his commander, Optimus Prime, and the three Autobot-partnered Mini-Cons; Sparkplug, Rollbar and Jolt.

Suddenly, the sensors on his console beeped, alerting him to something on the scanners. As he quickly brought the anomaly up onscreen, Optimus Prime walked up to him and asked, "Something wrong?"

"Possibly," Scavenger replied. "Teletran 1 just picked up a Decepticon in a desert region several parsecs south of here." Turning to Optimus, he asked, "Should I call back Hot Shot and Blurr to investigate?"

Optimus took one look at the screen, studied it, and replied, "No. I'll go myself. Ask Sparkplug to wait for me in the gate room with my trailer. I have an odd feeling I may be needing it."

* * *

Starscream smiled to himself as he pulled his Energon blade from the ground, having already cut a circular pattern into it.

"Now then, how to handle the excess rock," he noted to himself aloud. "Right now, I wish Megatron had instructed Thundercracker to accompany us. His sonic cannons would've been useful at this point."

With a slight sigh, Starscream simply stomped at the ground, rendering the cut earth to rubble. He then lifted his foot and fired off with his jets at maximum burn, either reducing the remaining rubble to dust or blowing it out of the large hole. When he stopped, he looked down to see a large portion of a Mini-Con stasis unit exposed to the air.

"Here's hoping I get lucky," Starscream noted, looking into the large, artificial pit.

Suddenly, the roar of an engine from behind caught his attention. He turned and looked to see a modified semi-trailer, a yellow sports car literally linked to the back portion of the cab, roaring towards him. It halted, and the cab disconnected from the main body and transformed into a large, familiar robot. The sports car followed suit, transforming into a small, familiar Mini-Con.

"Optimus Prime," Starscream noted in greeting. "As I live and crunch data. It's been a long time."

Optimus extended a hand, and replied, "Too long, Starscream." As Starscream reciprocated, he said, "You of course remember Sparkplug."

"Of course," Starscream replied, the handshake ending. Turning to the Mini-Con, he asked, "How have you been, Tiny?"

Sparkplug smirked, and asked, "Will you ever stop calling me that?"

"Maybe, given time," Starscream replied. He turned to Optimus and asked, "I take it your ship's computer detected me."

"Yes, through an uplink with the human spy satellites," Prime replied. "Although I was a little surprised to find you here, Starscream."

"I've managed to get in fairly close to Megatron since the Uprising," Starscream explained. "Close enough that he trusts me not to shoot him in the back by myself. Probably a reason why he only brought Thrust, Demolishor and Cyclonus with him and myself when we came. He doesn't how many of his troops are more with me than with him."

"So, only five Decepticons," Sparkplug noted. "And only four that we really need to worry about."

"If I can manage it, perhaps only one," Starscream noted. "But in order for me to keep Megatron off my back, I need to persuade him to look the other way for a while."

"Meaning you'll need the Mini-Cons in this pod," Optimus noted.

"Exactly," Starscream replied. "I know I'm asking a great deal Prime, but I feel that for now, it is for the best. Besides, I'll need all the help I can get if Megatron takes things too far."

Optimus looked at Starscream for a moment, then at Sparkplug, evaluating his options. Making his decision, he turned to Starscream and replied, "All right then. The Mini-Cons in the pod are under your protection. But if any of them are harmed..."

"We'll just have to hope it doesn't come to that," Sparkplug noted, jumping into the hole.

Both Optimus and Starscream looked to Sparkplug in surprise.

"Sparkplug..." Optimus began before being interrupted.

"These things were built so that only a Mini-Con or something similar could open them," Sparkplug replied. "If whoever's in here is online before they reach Megs, they'll have a smaller chance of being reprogrammed. Besides, this way you two don't have to ask me to open it up and see who's inside."

Optimus simply nodded while Starscream smiled and replied, "Thanks, Tiny."

"No problem, Screamer," Sparkplug replied, keying in a series of commands to the pod's door panel.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hot Shot and Blurr returned from their recon duty, having mapped and recorded countless details of the nearby city of Portland.

"Well, Blurr, what do you think?" Hot Shot asked.

"I'll say this for the humans, they know how to build cities," Blurr noted. "Granted, it's no Iacon, but it's still pretty good."

"Well, look who's decided to come back," Smokescreen said jokingly, walking up to the pair with Red Alert. "You kids find out anything on your sightseeing trip?"

"Enough to know our way around that human city," Hot Shot noted. "So, where're Optimus and Scavenger?"

"They're inside, checking over some readings," Red Alert reported. "It's possible that they may have confirmed the location of another Mini-Con stasis unit."

"Well, good news for our team," Blurr said. "Assuming the Decepticons don't get to it."

* * *

At that very same pod, Sparkplug worked silently at the primary console within, bringing his fellow Mini-Cons out of stasis. After a second, a Laserbeak unit was deployed and flew out of the small unit.

"Well, that's a good sign," Sparkplug noted to himself. He looked up from his worked, walked over to the nearest pod, gently put his hand to it, and said, "Here's hoping, old friend."

Within a few minutes, the Laserbeak unit returned to its slot, and transmitted the data it had collected to the individual units.

"Artillery units, mostly long-range," Sparkplug noted. "Guess all Laserbeak noticed was the military base nearby."

His thoughts were interrupted by the hiss of a stasis pod opening. Sparkplug turned to find himself staring at a gray, black and blue-green colored Mini-Con. Its lone optic bar came online, and he asked, "Sparkplug? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me," Sparkplug replied, offering a hand. "Welcome back, Leader-1."

"It's good to be back," Leader-1 responded, accepting his friend's hand. As he stepped out of his pod and ended his greeting, he asked, "Who else is up?"

"Rollbar, Jolt, the Street Action Team," Sparkplug listed, "and in a couple minutes your pod-mates."

"Fair enough," Leader-1 replied. "Next question; why are we up?"

With a slight sigh, Sparkplug replied, "Long story. I'll explain once everyone else is up."

* * *

Elsewhere within the _Nemesis_, the Decepticon starship, Starscream's absence had not gone unnoticed.

"WHERE IS HE?" Megatron yelled, smashing his hand into a wall and creating a very large dent.

"Megatron, sir, please try to relax," Thrust pleaded to his commander. "I'm certain Starscream had a clear, logical reason for leaving the base. Perhaps he was going out in search of a Mini-Con stasis unit."

"Most likely to find them for himself," Megatron posed. "When he returns, Mini-Cons or no, he shall be dealt with, oh yes..."

* * *

Within a few more minutes, Sparkplug and Leader-1 had revived the other five Mini-Cons in the pod.

"Sparkplug, what the slag is going on?" Knock-Out roared, pointing an angered finger at the yellow Cybertronian.

Knock Out was quickly held back as Wreckage ordered, "At ease, Knock Out, he's one of ours. Sparkplug's got good reason for bringing us back online." Wreckage turned to Sparkplug and asked, "You do have a reason, don't you?"

"Yes," Sparkplug replied. "Guys, I've got good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

"Start with the bad, please," Blackout replied.

Sparkplug cleared his audio emitters, then began, "A couple days ago, some of this planet's natives were exploring a few caves in a large mountain. They didn't know that one of the pods was in that mountain, and they accidentally brought it online, and in the process activated a distress call." Lowering his head, he continued, "Megatron was among the first to pick up on it."

"Megatron's here?" Crumplezone asked. "Wonderful."

"Hold it, soldier, Sparkplug said there was good news," Wreckage reminded him.

"And there is," Sparkplug replied, brightening up a bit. "Megatron made a mistake. He brought Starscream with him. Besides that, Prime and several other Autobots are here. They managed to recover myself and the other occupants of my pod."

"So Prime's here, as well as Starscream," Leader-1 noted. "And I take it unless Megatron gets himself a few new Mini-Cons, he'll tear Starscream apart."

"And Starscream's the only thing keeping the Decepticons from attacking the local population," Sparkplug added. "Six billion or so organic beings, all about our size. They'd be easy pickings for Megatron, assuming they don't vaporize him with a nuclear weapon or three."

"And we are the ones left with that glorious assignment," Leader-1 realized. "Wonderful."

With those words, a flurry of arguments erupted amongst the Mini-Cons.

"We can't just hand ourselves over to Megatron!" Knock-Out exclaimed.

"If we do not he could attack the locals," Crumplezone replied. "Do we really want that?"

"But he'll rewire us, reprogram us!" Knock-Out added.

"Who says he will if Starscream's there," Blackout pointed out.

"What makes you think we can trust Starscream?" Knock-Out retaliated.

"Because," Bonecrusher interjected, having been silent this whole time, "we can."

Knock-Out looked to his teammate in irritation, but eventually turned to his commander and replied, "Okay boss, I'm in. But I want Screamer's word he'll get us to safety with the Autobots if the Decepticons begin making direct attacks against humans."

"He'll easily do that," Sparkplug replied. "C'mon guys, we've got a job to do."

One by one, the seven Mini-Cons exited the pod. Standing above them at the rim of the Cybertronian-made hole were Optimus Prime and Starscream.

"Glad to see you're all okay," Starscream noted, kneeling down and offering his hands to the various Mini-Cons, bringing them up two at a time. "Leader-1?"

"This is all of us, Starscream," Leader-1 replied. "And Sparkplug's explained the situation to us. We'll go along, but if Megatron attacks the humans directly, the deal's off."

"Understood," Starscream replied. "Now then, let's make sure he can't easily notice my deception, shall we?"

With those words, he knelt down before the six new Mini-Cons. As Sparkplug stepped away and Leader-1 stepped forward, twin beams shot out of Starscream's optics into Leader-1's optic bar. After a couple seconds, the download ended.

"A programming mask?" Optimus asked.

"My way of making it appear that they've been reprogrammed where they really haven't," Starscream explained. "It won't be much, but it'll be enough from a technical point. You'll need to act the part of reprogrammed Mini-Cons, however."

"We should be able to handle that," Crumplezone replied as Blackout received his download.

As Starscream finished with his second one, he turned to Optimus and noted, "You and Sparkplug had best return to your base and give the other Autobots the relevant details. It'll be a little hard to explain if they detect an Autobot in the same area as my retrieval point, even harder being you."

"Understood," Optimus replied. "Take care, Starscream."

"You too, Prime," Starscream replied as Optimus, Sparkplug and the trailer warped out of the area. Turning back to the Mini-Cons, he asked, "Now then, who's next?"

* * *

As Optimus and Sparkplug materialized in the _Ark_'s warp room, Scavenger, Rollbar and Jolt stood waiting for them.

"Well?" Scavenger asked. "Where are they?"

"Call in the others," Optimus ordered. "There's an interesting new wrinkle that just came up."

* * *

In Portland, the local human population continued on with their normal, daily lives, unknowing of the conflict beginning to build between the alien machines already in their midst. One, however, was on the verge of discovering that conflict and those taking part in it.

"Diana?" a voice asked. "You still with me?"

Diana Masters shook her head slightly, then said, "Sorry, Kelly, just thinking about a few things."

Her friend and tablemate, Kelly Bongartner, shook her head slightly. "You worry too much, Diana. You need something."

"I have a hobby, Kelly, you know that," Diana replied, gingerly taking a sip from her coffee.

"I'm not talking about your Anime," Kelly replied. "What I mean is, you need a love life."

"I don't exactly have time for one," Diana noted. "Between Mesopotamia and mobile suits, there is no space for men."

"Dictionaries aside, there is space for them," Kelly replied. "What about that archaeologist friend of yours, Jones?"

"He wouldn't have the time," Diana noted. "He's always somewhere out in the field digging up something. I doubt it'd last."

"Still, you can't just sit and wait," Kelly noted. "You're in your mid-twenties now, you should at least be meeting people."

At that second, Kelly's cell phone went off. She quickly answered it and said, "Kelly here." After a couple seconds, she replied, "Okay, be there in ten," then shut off the phone. Downing the last of her coffee and picking up her things, she explained, "The life of a television news reporter."

"The things you see," Diana replied with a touch of sarcasm. "Take care of yourself, Kelly."

"Later, Diana," Kelly replied, rushing off to hail a cab and leaving Diana to her thoughts.

* * *

Starscream had been expecting Megatron's anger. He just did not expect him to be this angry, as he found himself slammed arm-first into a bulkhead.

"You left the ship!" Megatron bellowed, slamming Starscream into the wall once more for emphasis. "On your own! Without my direct authorization! Are you purposely trying my patience, Starscream?"

"No, Megatron," Starscream replied, feigning weakness. "I merely wished to make certain that we claimed a group of Mini-Cons for ourselves, before the Autobots got their hands on them. I thought one lone Decepticon would be less noticeable than the entire group."

Megatron looked to his lieutenant, considering his options, then said, "You do have a point, Starscream." He let go of his lieutenant, who slid quickly to the floor, and continued, "I will let it slide, this time. However, in the future, you will not leave this base without an escort. Is that clear?"

"Crystal, sir," Starscream replied.

"Good," Megatron said. At that point, he turned his attention to the Mini-Cons and said, "Now then, Mini-Cons. Who do you serve?"

At that point, the six snapped to attention, saluted, and replied, "Hail Megatron, true leader of the Decepticons! We swear our loyalty to you!"

Megatron smiled slightly as Starscream thought to himself, _They're laying it on a little too thick..._

"Wonderful," Megatron replied. "Now then, the choosing." He pointed to Crumplezone and said, "You shall go to Cyclonus." Pointing a finger in the general direction of Blackout and the Land Military Team, Megatron said, "The four of you shall go to Demolishor." He then walked over to Leader-1, gingerly picked him up, and said, "And I think you know where you are going, yes."

With those words, a compartment opened in Megatron's leg. He tossed Leader-1 in, and the compartment silently closed.

"I feel better already," Megatron noted, a triumphant smile on his face. "Now then, Starscream, I want you to modify Cyclonus and his new Mini-Con to aid in their connection. We must boost the arsenal as best we can. In the meantime, I shall begin plotting...strategy, yes."

With those words, Megatron exited the chamber.

"Whoa," Cyclonus noted. "You really sizzled Megatron's circuits there, Starscream."

As Demolishor helped him to stand, Starscream pointed out, "Yes, but it would've been worse had I returned empty-handed, now wouldn't it?"

"You still took a great risk," Thrust noted.

"A calculated risk, one well worth it," Starscream replied. "Now then. Demolishor, you're going to be stuck with the four of them for a while, I suggest you get acquainted. Cyclonus, you, Crumplezone and I have a date in the repair bay."

As Starscream led Cyclonus and his new Mini-Con out of the chamber, Thrust muttered to himself, "Starscream will be the destruction of us all," before exiting through another door.

Finding himself alone with his new Mini-Cons, Demolishor said, somewhat uneasily, "Anyway, I'm Demolishor. And the four of you are?"

* * *

As Starscream led Cyclonus and Crumplezone into the repair bay, Cyclonus began, "Anyway, I'm excited about this whole deal, Crumplezone. I can't wait to take you into battle and start kicking Auto-butt!"

"Whatever," Crumplezone replied.

Cyclonus looked to him in slight surprise, and as Starscream started up the equipment, he asked, "Why do you say that?"

"The Autobots have done nothing to me, and I doubt they have done anything truly heinous to you," Crumplezone pointed out. "I was reprogrammed by Starscream to be loyal to Megatron and his cause, and by extension of that to you. Thus, I will fight if ordered, I will Powerlink, and I will do what is needed for the cause. However, that does not mean I will enjoy my work."

"He brings up a few good points, Cyclonus," Starscream pointed out. "Now, Crumplezone, climb onto the examination table and transform please."

Crumplezone did as requested, and Starscream began a thorough scan of both Crumplezone and Cyclonus. Starscream studied over the results, and said, "According to these scans, the best point for a possible fusion would be where your chest currently is, Cyclonus. It should serve to give your vehicular mode a bit more firepower." As he pulled out a few small instruments, he said, "Just relax a bit, I'll be done in a few cycles."

"Uh, Starscream," Cyclonus asked, "why are you fighting for Megatron?"

Starscream simply smiled, and replied, "A favor to an old friend."

* * *

Within his quarters, Megatron silently went over the situation in his head. The Autobots had six officers and a Mini-Con each. He had four others with him and six Mini-Cons in his own arsenal. The sides had evened out a bit now, yes.

He turned his attention to the blue orb spinning silently outside his window. On that planet, concealed beneath layers of rock, was a potential army, power waiting to be harvested like raw Energon crystals. He could almost taste it. There were only two clear obstacles in his path: the Autobots, and the inhabitants of that spinning globe. The Autobots, especially Prime, would present a problem at this stage of the game. The fleshlings, however, were another matter entirely, nuclear weapons be damned.

"Let us begin the harvest," Megatron noted, a grim smile crossing his face.

* * *

"And we're done," Starscream announced.

Crumplezone detached from Cyclonus as both transformed into their respective robot modes.

"Didn't hurt a bit," Cyclonus noted. "And the power, it was incredible. It was like being on an overload of Energon."

"Don't be too impressed," Starscream warned. "Power alone doesn't win battles."

"A very true statement, Starscream," Megatron noted as he entered the repair bay. "I assume you have completed modifications?"

"I just finished them," Starscream replied.

"Excellent," Megatron noted. "For I have a mission for Cyclonus."

"Yeah boss?" Cyclonus asked, snapping to attention.

"You and your Mini-Con are to scout the human settlement near the area where the first Mini-Con pod was found," Megatron explained. "It is very, very likely that we will find the humans who found the first few Mini-Cons in that area."

Starscream's optics widened slightly as he listened.

"Once you have found them, chase them away from the settlement," Megatron continued. "Once we have done so, we can capture those humans and any Mini-Cons with them."

"And if they don't have Mini-Cons?" Starscream asked, his head tilted slightly to indicate curiosity.

"We can use them as a bargaining chip with Optimus Prime," Megatron replied. "He won't risk a few measly human lives just to keep the Mini-Cons, no. He'll either hand them over to us, or I will crush them in my own two hands."

Crumplezone's optics narrowed slightly in anger, though he refrained from vocalizing it. Starscream, meanwhile, tried his best to maintain a neutral expression.

"Now, Cyclonus, snap to it!" Megatron bellowed.

"Yes, Megatron!" Cyclonus replied, rushing out of the chamber. Crumplezone followed, albeit reluctantly. Megatron then exited, chuckling as he went.

Once Megatron exited earshot, Starscream slammed a closed fist down on the console, leaving a slight dent. "Megatron, you're taking too many risks."

* * *

Back on Earth, a young boy in his early teens wheeled along on a strangely built bicycle. The boy's name was Rad, and the bicycle was in reality a Mini-Con by the name of High Wire. The two silently wheeled along one of Portland's many streets, heading towards a small McDonalds in the distance. Awaiting them were two other teens, Carlos and Alexis, and High Wire's comrades in the Street Action Team, Grindor and Sureshock.

"Hey guys," Rad said, stopping High Wire as they approached.

"We were beginning to wonder when you guys would show up, Rad," Carlos replied. "What took you?"

"Traffic," Rad answered. "So, we all ready to show the guys around?"

"We've been ready," Alexis answered with the slight nudge of a complaint. "So, where are we going first? There's no way we could take the guys into a mall or store."

"A park or two should more than suffice," High Wire noted, keeping her voice as low as possible. "Earth is no Cybertron, but it does have a certain beauty of its own."

"Okay then, a park it is," Rad replied. As he was about to turn High Wire in the direction of the nearest park, he stopped and asked, "Hey guys, you hear that? Sounds like a helicopter."

"Probably just a news chopper checking on traffic," Alexis noted, having already taken her place on Sureshock.

Her internal sensors registering the incoming, Sureshock said, "Would a news chopper head directly towards us at a low altitude, or have an Energon-based power core?"

"A Decepticon!" Grindor realized, Carlos already locked into place.

The words were barely in the air before Cyclonus, Crumplezone attached to act as a second cockpit, began trundling towards them.

"Well, what do you know?" Cyclonus asked. "Less than a megacycle on the job and I find what I'm looking for! Now don't make any sudden moves, little ones, and maybe you'll be okay!"

"Roll for it!" Grindor commanded.

In an instant, the group of humans and Mini-Cons shot off, moving as far away from Cyclonus as they could.

"Well, things are getting more interesting!" Cyclonus replied. "Okay kiddies, let's see what you can do!"

* * *

Nearby, Diana sat, nursing her coffee. Maybe Kelly's right, I do need something more in my life than just cartoons and essays. But can I really take time out for something like that?

Her thoughts were interrupted as Rad, Carlos, Alexis, and the Street Action Team zoomed past.

"What in the...?" Diana asked herself. "What are those three doing?"

Cyclonus immediately answered her question, zooming past her overhead.

"Running from a combat chopper," Diana said, answering her own question. "Whoever that is, they have another thing coming attacking my students." She rose to her feet, set a generous amount of money down on the table, and rushed away to her car yelling, "Keep the change!"

* * *

Swiftly weaving into an alley, the kids and their Mini-Con companions took a minute to catch their breath.

"Did we lose him?" Carlos asked.

"Doubtful," Grindor said. "His readings are higher than normal, though. The 'Cons must've found Mini-Cons of their own."

"Wonderful," Sureshock noted. "How are we supposed to hold them off?"

"Right now, I think heading outside of city limits would be a wise course," High Wire suggested. "If it comes down to a fight, we'll at least minimize casualties."

"And if it does come to that, you kids need to run and hide," Grindor ordered. "No telling what the 'Cons will do to you kids."

"Oh, don't worry," Cyclonus said, appearing behind them at the entrance to the alley. "We aren't going to hurt them! Really!"

"Like we should believe you," Sureshock replied as the alley's other entrance was blocked by the familiar form of an SUV. "What the...?"

The right side front passenger door opened, and Diana leaned out and called, "Kids! Get in!"

"Ms. Masters?" Alexis asked.

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Alexis!" Rad called as he rushed towards the car, taking High Wire with him. Carlos, Alexis and the other Mini-Cons followed in turn, piling into the vehicle before rushing off.

"Well, things just got a lot easier," Cyclonus noted, rising into the air so that he could fly over the buildings and follow them more easily. "Cyclonus to Megatron, come in!"

* * *

"...I've located three of the Mini-Cons!" Cyclonus continued over the radio. "They're in a human ground transport, one apparently built for uneven terrain."

"Excellent, Cyclonus," Megatron noted. "Chase them outside the city. We will be happily waiting for them."

* * *

"Okay kids, I want a few explanations," Diana continued, driving them through Portland. "First of all, why is there a combat helicopter chasing after you three?"

"It's kind of a long story," Rad replied, unsure of where to begin.

"You'd better make it fast then, considering the guns on that thing," Diana replied, keeping her eyes on the road but checking the rear-view mirror every couple seconds.

"Well..." Rad began.

"Perhaps we'd better explain it," Grindor said as he, High Wire, and Sureshock transformed, settling a little more easily into the car than before. As if in response to Diana's wide-eyed stare, he continued, "Easy, miss, we aren't going to hurt anyone. I'm Grindor, and this is High Wire and Sureshock."

"We're Mini-Cons, from a planet called Cybertron," High Wire continued. "We left there around four million Earth years ago to escape the tyranny of the Decepticons."

"And they're flying that thing?" Diana asked.

"No, one of them is that thing," Sureshock replied. "We aren't the only ones on our planet who can transform between robot and vehicle."

"Transforming alien robots," Diana said in near-disbelief. "Well Carlos, maybe you were right about that alien thing."

"Right now, I kinda wish I hadn't mentioned it," Carlos admitted.

"Miss Masters, we need to get out of the city!" Alexis chimed in. "If that thing decides to shoot us, well, you kinda get the idea."

"Sadly," Diana replied. "Hang on, we're out of here!" As she sped up, she asked, "Just out of curiosity, how many of those things are here?"

"At least four, including him," High Wire replied. "Thankfully, they aren't the only ones who have an interest in us..."

* * *

"So Starscream's on our side?" Hot Shot asked. "That makes things a little easier."

He and the other Autobots stood in the central control room aboard the _Ark_, discussing Optimus's meeting with Starscream from earlier.

"I don't know, Optimus," Smokescreen noted. "How do we know that we can trust Starscream? For all we know, he might just be leading us into a trap."

"Smokescreen has a point," Blurr noted.

"You two seem to be forgetting that Starscream fought during the first Civil War," Red Alert reminded them. "He deserves at least the benefit of the doubt."

"But what if the Decepticons torture them, or use them against the humans?" Hot Shot asked.

"Even if Starscream allowed it to happen, Megatron isn't stupid enough to risk a direct assault against this world," Scavenger noted.

"Besides, I have Starscream's word that if a Mini-Con comes to harm, he'll immediately get all of them to us," Optimus noted.

"And you trust him?" Blurr asked.

"I do," Optimus replied.

There was an uneasy silence after that, until Blurr finally said, "Then there's nothing we can do, is there?"

"Except trust Optimus's judgement," Smokescreen replied. "Not too hard, considering."

"So, what's the plan?" Hot Shot asked.

"We make certain that the Decepticons don't take many more Mini-Cons," Optimus noted. "For their protection, ours, and Starscream's."

"Understood," Blurr replied with a nod. The other Autobots did likewise.

Suddenly, Sparkplug's voice boomed over the intercom, "Optimus, we're picking up a transmission from the Street Action Team! A Decepticon is chasing them and the kids out of the city towards our position! And the other four just showed up nearby."

"They're going after the kids?" Hot Shot asked. "Those rust-plated..."

"Easy, Hot Shot," Optimus ordered. "Sparkplug, get Jolt and Rollbar. We're going to need every hand we can get. Autobots, roll out!"

* * *

As the SUV rolled through the rocky area surrounding Portland, Diana milled through what she had just learned. Ancient robots from another planet were being chased around by other, much larger robots, and she had just gotten herself involved.

_Well, Kelly said I needed something to do with my spare time,_ she noted, turning the SUV sharply to avoid a large rock.

In the car with her, the kids and Mini-Cons held on for dear life as the SUV turned and banked through the rocks before beginning to slow down. As it stopped, the kids looked around in shock.

"What are we stopping for?" Carlos asked. "Put the pedal to the metal already!"

"We can't go any further," Diana admitted, her hands falling limply off the wheel. "We're out of gas."

"And out of luck," Alexis noted. "Look!"

Rushing towards them were Megatron, Starscream, Thrust, and Demolishor, all in their vehicle modes. As they approached, Megatron fired his cannon, blasting away several of the surrounding rocks and allowing himself a clearer view of his prey.

"Excellent work, Cyclonus," Megatron said, coming to a stop. "Now then, Decepticons, transform and attack!"

One by one, the five gathered Decepticons transformed into their robot modes and stood menacingly over the four humans and their Mini-Con companions.

Watching from the SUV, Rad could only think of one thing to say: "This is bad."

"Oh man, we're gonna die!" Carlos practically screamed.

Noticing a glimmer in the distance, Grindor shot back, "Oh no we aren't."

Megatron, however, had not noticed, and swiftly called out, "Now then, puny fleshlings, leave or perish under my feet!"

"Still picking on beings smaller than yourself, Megatron?" a voice called out. "Are you too afraid to stand optic to optic with your enemy?"

Recognizing the voice, Megatron turned around, the other Decepticons following him, and bellowed in a mixture of anger and surprise, "Prime!"

Sure enough, the six Autobots rolled towards the five Decepticons at top speed in their vehicle modes, Optimus Prime leading the charge. Powerlinked to Optimus, Scavenger and Hot Shot were Sparkplug, Rollbar, and Jolt.

_Well, this is getting a little better for us,_ Starscream thought to himself with a small smile.

"Autobots, transform!" Optimus ordered.

Within a few short seconds, the six Autobots had transformed to robot mode, their weapons at the ready. Sparkplug remained latched onto Optimus Prime's trailer, while Jolt and Rollbar had already Powerlinked with Hot Shot and Scavenger, either as a close-range weapon or as a simple power-boost.

"Well, well, Optimus Prime to the rescue as usual," Megatron noted. "However, you aren't going to have an easy time of it, no. You see, you no longer have the advantage in Mini-Cons. Leader-1, Powerlink!"

With those words, the compartment within Megatron's right leg opened, allowing Leader-1 to exit, jump up, and transform into a cannon emplacement, latching onto Megatron's right arm in the process.

"Now then, let us begin," Megatron noted, taking aim. Firing the first salvo, he proclaimed, "Decepticons, attack!"

As the Decepticons opened fire with every weapon at their disposal, the Autobots jumped out of the way, taking cover in the rocky landscape. As he pulled out his rifle and pistol and started firing back, Optimus ordered, "Red, get the kids and the Street Action Team to safety! We'll cover you!"

"On it, Optimus," Red Alert replied, transforming back into vehicle mode and wheeling towards the SUV containing Diana, the kids, and the Street Action Team.

"And these guys are?" Diana asked as Red Alert came towards them.

"The Autobots," High Wire answered. "They're more concerned with keeping us alive than with using us as weapons like Megatron."

"So they're on our side," Diana noted. With a smile, she added, "At least someone is."

At that second, Red Alert wheeled up next to them, opened his various doors and hatches, and called out, "Everyone, quickly!"

"You heard the robot," Diana ordered as she and the kids quickly unfastened their seatbelts and rushed out of the SUV.

Within a few seconds, most of the human occupants had piled into Red Alert. Rad was about to enter himself, however, but he soon noticed that the Street Action Team was staying behind. "Guys, c'mon!"

"No, Rad," High Wire noted. "This is our fight. We have to stay."

"But...!" Rad said before being interrupted by Diana putting a hand to his shoulder.

"They'll be fine," Diana noted to him. Turning to the three Mini-Cons, she said, "Just try not to wreck my car, okay?"

"Sure thing," High Wire replied.

* * *

As Red Alert got the kids and Diana to safety, the battle had seemingly split into five separate confrontations instead of one large fight. In one corner of the battlefield, Starscream had pulled out and extended his Energon blade and was engaging in one-on-one combat with Scavenger, who simply held back the blade with his hands.

"Tell me Starscream, how long do you think you can keep this up?" Scavenger asked.

"As long as needed!" Starscream called in reply.

"Do you really think you can get by with this?" Scavenger asked. "Siding with Megatron, gathering the Mini-Cons, keeping them as you are now?"

"A 'bot tries not to think of the consequences of failure," Starscream replied with a smirk.

With a returning smirk, Scavenger noted, "I hope you succeed, then."

* * *

Meanwhile, a one-on-one battle waged between Blurr and Thrust. As Thrust darted overhead, Blurr fired off round after round in an attempt to shoot him down.

Reveling in the apparent lack of accuracy from Blurr's attacks, Thrust chuckled and cried out, "Foolish Autobot! Do you honestly think you can hit me from down there?"

His arrogance ending as one of Blurr's attacks hit home, Thrust fell slightly, disoriented.

"I think so," Blurr noted.

* * *

Meanwhile, a similar fight raged between Cyclonus and Hot Shot.

Cackling to himself, Cyclonus called out, "Hey, Auto-brat! You aren't the only one with a Mini-Con now! Crumplezone, Powerlink!"

With those words, Crumplezone dislodged himself from Cyclonus's chest, transformed back into tank mode, then linked onto Cyclonus's right arm, offering him an additional means of fire. As Crumplezone finished, Cyclonus took aim and fired off, blasting down towards Hot Shot.

Hot Shot, however, quickly dodged the attacks, quickly finding cover behind a large rock.

"Okay, obviously he's learned from last time," Hot Shot noted as Cyclonus continued firing down on him and Jolt.

"You didn't expect anything less?" Jolt asked in return. "Listen, you have any long-range weapons?"

"Only my primary cannon, but I doubt it'd be strong enough to take him down," Hot Shot replied.

"Let me take care of that," Jolt replied, dislodging himself from Hot Shot's arm and instead latching onto a secondary Powerlinx point on Hot Shot's back.

With Jolt in place, Hot Shot leapt out from behind the rock, flipped up his cannon and called out, "Hey, rotor-back! Got a surprise for you!" In an instant, Hot Shot had fired a missile, sending it rocketing towards Cyclonus.

"That's nothing!" Cyclonus called back, firing a missile from his right arm.

The two missiles impacted, blowing each other up. The blast, however, was enough to knock Cyclonus from the air and to the ground, temporarily off-line.

Dislodging himself from his 'partner', Crumplezone looked at Cyclonus, then to Hot Shot, and gave a thumbs-up and said, "Not bad, kid."

* * *

"Blackout, Bonecrusher, Knock Out, Wreckage, Powerlink!" Demolishor called out, the four Mini-Cons under his command quickly transforming and linking up to him, before partially transforming himself back into vehicle mode to that he could unload his now substantial arsenal upon the Autobot before him.

"Not bad," Smokescreen noted, clearly unimpressed. "Add a couple scanner modules and you'd actually have a potential threat there!"

"Potential threat!" Demolishor asked in disbelief. "Here's your potential threat, you walking scrap heap!"

With those words, Demolishor opened fire, sending numerous missiles and several supercharged bullets towards Smokescreen. Smokescreen, however, quickly transformed to vehicle mode and sped away, avoiding the bullets but keeping the missiles on his tail. After weaving between several large rocks, Smokescreen swiftly turned around, directly facing the missiles, then flipped up a small radar dish on his cab. He sent off a volley of radio waves, scrambling the missiles' targeting systems and sending them back to their owner.

"Oh no!" Demolishor cried out, transforming totally back to robot mode and quickly firing at the missiles with his handguns. Thankfully for Demolishor, he was able to destroy the missiles with ease. His defense complete, he gave a small "Whew" in relief and blinked his optics.

Demolishor's relief was short-lived as a long wire ended by a hook coiled its way around his legs, the hook catching onto the remaining portion of the wire. Demolishor barely had time to notice as the noose tightened itself around his legs, causing him to collapse to one side. Demolishor hit the ground, knocked offline.

With a slight chuckle, Smokescreen added some slack to his line, freeing Demolishor's legs, before re-coiling it back into his chest cavity. "They don't make Decepticons like they used to."

As Smokescreen spoke, the Land Military Team and Blackout disconnected themselves from Demolishor and took a brief look at Smokescreen's handiwork.

"'Bot has a point," Bonecrusher noted.

* * *

Meanwhile, Optimus Prime continued weaving between rocks, taking shots at Megatron with both his rifle and his pistol while Megatron continued firing Leader-1 at him, blowing apart rocks with every shot.

"Prime, you are beginning to amuse me," Megatron noted with a slight chuckle. "However, I did not come here for entertainment, no. Leader-1, engage secondary Powerlink!"

With those words, Leader-1 dislodged himself from Megatron's right arm before landing on the ground. Meanwhile, Megatron himself seemed to spring up, his back and cannon flipping around to the front and forming a rotating turret unit. Megatron's chest then fell back into place as a dual missile launcher clicked in on the turret. Finally, Leader-1 seemed to leap up into another Powerlinx point, his cannon units pointing straight ahead.

"Now then, Prime, the game ends!" Megatron bellowed, unleashing the full fury of his Full Assault Mode upon the surrounding landscape.

With rocks crumbling and the ground ripping apart around him, Optimus Prime quickly agreed, "You're right, Megatron, the game is over. Sparkplug!"

From his position with Prime's trailer, Sparkplug quickly transmitted a set of orders to the trailer, willing it to move towards Prime, who thankfully was not that far away.

"You honestly think that little pile of scrap is going to help you to defeat me, Prime?" Megatron asked, quickly turning his sights on the large trailer wheeling towards them.

As Megatron opened fire, however, several banks of jets activated throughout the trailer's underside, sending it into the air.

"That and your ego, Megatron!" Optimus shot back, jumping into the air and beginning an alternative transformation of his own.

"What the...?" Megatron asked.

As he watched, Optimus Prime himself transformed again, only into a large torso unit with arms. Meanwhile, Sparkplug dislodged himself from the trailer as it split apart into a large base before folding up again into a massive pair of legs. The two parts combined into a larger body, much larger than Megatron himself. As Sparkplug reconnected himself into the larger Prime's shoulder, a head popped into position. "Super mode, online!"

Megatron, meanwhile, smirked. "Very impressive, Prime, you just wasted several seconds making yourself a larger target!"

"Except this target shoots back!" Optimus Prime returned as several guns deployed themselves from his new legs and a group of missile banks opened up in his right shoulder. He then leveled his rifle and pistol, both of which seemed much smaller than before, and took aim.

"Whoever said I was complaining about that?" Megatron noted as both he and Optimus Prime opened fire onto one another with everything they had.

* * *

As both combatants fought, the gathered (conscious) beings around them watched with a certain degree of awe.

"Geez," Diana noted from her vantagepoint with the kids and Red Alert. "Are those two always like this?"

"Not always," Red Alert replied. "This is actually pretty tame."

Giving the fight a sidelong glance, Diana noted, "I'd hate to see a wild one."

* * *

Meanwhile, the exchange of fire continued. Both Optimus and Megatron remained standing, neither attacker seeming to gain the upper hand on the other. However, the battle was beginning to strain both of them as the Street Action Team watched from a position in the rocks.

"This isn't going well," Sureshock noted. "Prime's good, but I don't think he can keep this up forever."

"Nor do I," High Wire agreed. Turning to her comrades, she asked, "So then, shall we step in?"

"Not just yet," Grindor replied. "Wait for the right moment. It's more dramatic that way."

Both High Wire and Sureshock looked at their masculine teammate, then sighed and noted, "Men."

* * *

Meanwhile, as Sureshock had noted, the battle was taking its toll. Megatron, built for combat and armored to stand up to most forms of assault, weathered the blasts from Optimus well. Optimus, meanwhile, was built along slightly different lines. With each successive blast came a high degree of wear on his armor. However, much to his credit, Optimus stood up to each blast, standing firm in the attack and not backing down.

Finally tiring, Megatron noted, "It appears we are evenly matched so far as this goes, Prime." With a grin, he then said, "It is time I switched gears, yes."

With those words, Megatron simply fired off one large blast from his fusion cannon, tearing directly into where Optimus connected to his trailer. The massive blast, augmented by Leader-1 and despite Optimus using his arms as a shield, was more than enough to tear apart several parts of Optimus's armor and separate him back into trailer and robot.

As Optimus slowly transformed himself back into robot mode, several large scorch marks on his legs and torso, Megatron walked forward, transforming back into normal robot mode and aiming his cannon directly at Optimus's chest.

"Now!" Grindor said, much to the relief of his teammates, as Optimus managed to reach a kneeling position.

The three members of the Street Action Team rushed to Optimus as Megatron reached point blank range.

"It appears the end has finally come, Prime," Megatron noted, an arrogant grin on his face. "I would've waited an eternity for this. It's over."

"That's the thing with you, Megatron," a voice noted. "It's never over."

Megatron wheeled to one side to find the Street Action Team assembled at his feet.

"Are those three loco?" Carlos asked from his position with the other kids, Diana, and Red Alert. "What are they doing?"

"Making a point," Red Alert noted.

"Street Action Team, merge to form Perceptor!" Grindor called out.

As one, the three Mini-Cons leapt into the air, changing forms as they did so. Sureshock seemed to split in two, transforming into a pair of legs. Grindor transformed into a different version of his skateboard mode, only with the opposing ends separating and folding either into arms or into flight jets. As Grindor and Sureshock connected, forming a near-complete body, High Wire transformed and linked up, forming a backpack and head.

The Mini-Con Gestalt, now fully formed, kicked on his flight jets, blasting upwards and landing a powerful punch to Megatron's robotic jaw.

Taken by surprise and off-balance, the large Decepticon fell to the ground on his back with a deafening thud. As he struggled to stand, Perceptor landed on his chest and pointed a finger directly towards him, accenting his next words:

"Listen well, Megatron," Perceptor began. "No dictator, no invader can hold an imprisoned population by force of arms forever. There is no greater power in the universe than the need for freedom. Against that power tyrants and dictators cannot stand. The Quintessons learned that lesson once. It is time you learned it. Even if it takes a lifetime, we shall be free."

Megatron growled, then looked around. The only Decepticon under his command left standing was Starscream, and he did not want to owe Starscream any favors. Besides that, most of the Autobots were perfectly capable of taking aim and firing on him. Finally, he said, "It shall not be my lifetime, Mini-Con. Decepticons...retreat."

As Perceptor lifted off, Megatron seemed to fade away, recalling himself to the _Nemesis_. Having only regained consciousness a few milliseconds ago, Demolishor, Cyclonus and Thrust were barely able to warp out in a similar fashion.

Sharing a slight smirk, Scavenger let go of Starscream's blade and the two stood upright. "You'd best get going," Scavenger noted.

"I will," Starscream replied. "Give my regards to Optimus."

With those words, Starscream warped out.

With the battle over, the Autobots and their Mini-Con partners quickly gathered around their injured leader. As Scavenger helped Optimus to stand, Hot Shot asked, "Optimus, sir, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Optimus noted. "No injuries Red can't patch up. Are the kids safe?"

"They're just fine," Red noted as Rad, Carlos, Alexis and Diana walked up to the gathering. "Although it isn't just the kids who asked for help, as you can see."

Looking up at the large robots surrounding her, Diana could not help but note, "Amazing. Forgive me for saying all this, but you guys are incredible."

"We aren't that incredible, Miss...?" Optimus replied.

"Masters," Diana replied. "Diana Masters. I'm one of Rad, Carlos, and Alexis's teachers."

"An educator," Smokescreen noted. "Not a bad job."

"Depends on what you teach," Scavenger added with a smile.

Returning the smile, Diana noted, "History, in my case." Turning to face the gathered assembly, she noted, "And you're all...Autobots, right?"

"Correct," Optimus replied, kneeling to the ground to more easily converse with the six-foot-tall human at his feet. "I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. You've already met Red Alert, our team medic."

Red Alert and Diana exchanged nods in introduction.

Optimus then continued, each team member nodding as he went, "This is Scavenger, my second in command, Smokescreen, Hot Shot, and Blurr."

"And I'm Sparkplug, Optimus's Mini-Con partner," the small yellow robot noted, making his presence known. "That's Rollbar, Scavenger's partner, and Jolt, Hot Shot's partner. And you've already met the Street Action Team."

As Perceptor landed and separated into his individual parts, Grindor noted, "Sorry that took so long."

"Somehow, I don't think the kids minded too much," Optimus noted. Rubbing his back where Megatron had blasted him, he noted, "But you didn't have to cut it so close."

Grindor managed a nervous chuckle while both High Wire and Sureshock gave him sidelong glances, shaking their heads in irritation.

"So, any more questions?" Optimus asked.

With a chuckle, Diana answered, "Too many to count."

"We'll answer them all in time," Optimus assured her. "For now, however, I think the day's been long enough."

The End


	2. Chapter 1 ReEdit

Battle Lines

A Transformers: Armada Story

By William Rendfeld

In a part of the Chichuahaun Desert of New Mexico, Kirtland Air Force Base mingled with the mirages that were created from the surrounding heat. Originally named Albuquerque Army Air Base when it was first established as a flight training base in 1941, built near the then Albuquerque International Sunport, it was already training flight crews for the B-17, B-24, and B-29 bombers by the time World War II rolled around. It wasn't until 1942 that it was later renamed to Kirtland Army Air Field, after Army Colonel Roy C. Kirtland, and then later to its current name when the base's role switched to testing and evaluating special weapons in 1947. At present, Kirtland is the largest storage facility for nuclear weapons after the Kirtland Underground Munitions Storage Complex was built in 1992, home to the Air Force Materiel Command's Nuclear Weapons Center, and the third largest installation in the AFMC, after Eglin AFB and Edwards AFB.

A sleek, red-and-silver colored jet lanced through the air at low speed and low altitude, hoping to avoid detection from the military base's radar and any sightings by possible adventurers. After a few short minutes Starscream decreased his speed and transformed upon reaching his destination, skidding softly to a halt on the ground. Looking around himself, he took a moment to enjoy the landscape and was thankful that so far none had noticed his approach. Knowing that he had little time, the Seeker activated his scanners, a visor coming down over his optics as he swept over the ground beneath his feet.

"According to these readings, the Mini-Con pod should be right about here." Pulling a shovel out of his internal subspace storage unit, he began to dig quickly, all while keeping track of his sensors. No one had spotted the red jet thus far, but nothing was stopping him from being seen period.

* * *

Several hundred miles northwest, Mount Saint Hilary silently stood, casting shadows as the sun rose over the Boring Lava Fields. The _Ark_ rested nearby, undisturbed save for a few birds fluttering around atop its hull.

"Hey, go on, scoot!" The spooked birds immediately flew off, the one who had scared them away watching as they scattered off towards the distance. "No offense to this planet, but I think it overdid itself with the ecosystem."

"Just be thankful the avians are the only things we need to worry about." Red Alert looked up from his perch atop the _Ark_'s hull, kneeling down and examining what was left in the birds' wake. "We're fortunate this is easily cleaned off."

Smokescreen checked his feet, hoping that he hadn't spread the droppings around. "Don't suppose you've got any bright ideas for keeping them away, do you?"

The medic gave him an unimpressed look. "I'll get to it once I settle how we'll be replenishing our Energon reserves."

* * *

Within the ship itself, Scavenger silently checked over the sensor grid. With his young charges out on recon in nearby Portland and the ship's support crew busy with other projects, he and his commanding officer were left to keep an eye out for any suspicious activity and hope they could quickly address it.

A loud beep sounded off from his console, prompting him to bring up a display. As the information windows formed, his commander approached. "Something wrong?"

"Possibly – we just picked up a Decepticon in a desert region several kils south of here. It's a Seeker, Type 1A." The old bulldozer gave a smirk. "Looks like we know who was piloting the ship. Should I call back Hot Shot and Blurr to investigate?"

Optimus took one look at the screen before shaking his head. "No. I'll go myself. Ask Sparkplug to wait for me in the transport room with my trailer. I have an odd feeling I may be needing it."

* * *

After several minutes of digging, Starscream soon found himself envious of the members of the Decepticon Construction Guilds – bulky though they may be, they were far better suited for tasks like this than he was. Just as he was about to give up and hope the Autobots had picked him up by now, his shovel suddenly gave off a clang, prompting a smile. "And here I was afraid I'd be unable to do this myself." He continued digging around where he'd struck metal, several feet down from the surface of the earth, until he'd managed to create a semicircle wide enough for him to comfortably stand in. Near its center, its deep cobalt surface glinting under the sun, was the escape pod he sought. Starscream quickly knelt down, hoping to find the pod's hatch as he felt along the edges. "Now, with luck, all of you have survived the crash, and I'll–"

The Decepticon's thoughts were interrupted as his audials picked up the roar of engines coming from close by. Sensors scanned the area – no incoming aircraft, just a large land vehicle approaching from the northwest. He stood up and drew his sword as he turned to face the incoming vehicle, remaining still as it approached but ready nonetheless. At it got closer, it was revealed as a modified semi cab, a large trailer linked at its rear and a tiny yellow sports car mounted on top. As the Seeker watched the truck slowed, the cab separating from the trailer before unfolding into a familiar red, blue and grey robot.

The two Cybertronians looked at one another for a few short seconds, before the Seeker broke the silence. "It's been a long time, Prime."

"Too long." Starscream's neutral expression shifted, a smile growing on his face, as he placed his sword back in storage and stepped out of the pit. Optimus laughed, and offered a hand. "I didn't expect to run into you like this, Starscream."

"Neither did I, but I won't complain." He grasped the offered hand warmly, delight in his voice. "It's good to see you again, Optimus." He looked once more to the trailer. "Is that you, Tiny?"

Sparkplug gave an aggravated grumble as he popped from his port. "Will you ever stop calling me that?"

The Seeker smirked. "Nice to see you, too." He turned back to Optimus. "Let me guess, you've linked up with the human weather satellites."

"Not an easy thing, but obviously worth the effort. Does Megatron know you're out here?"

"No, but my absence will be noticed quickly, which makes my efforts…"

"Wait, hold on a nano-klik… What are you doing with Megatron in the first place?" The Mini-Con all but stared. "He slagged Jhiaxus at the start of the Second War, so shouldn't you be leading the Decepticons against him?"

The Seeker turned downcast. "It's… complicated. I was unpopular among the civilian population after what happened to Jhiaxus. Frankly, I can't blame them. I ended up passing the baton to Straxus, thinking he could help to bring our people together. Unfortunately, he's had little luck in stopping Megatron's forces – we've had to mostly rely upon Autobot assistance to even have a small chance at bringing them in, and that's been met with little success and less approval."

"We've been suspecting espionage for some time, but we've never found a concrete suspect. Is that why you're with Megatron – counter-espionage?"

"Among other things, yes, and I'm glad to say I'm not the only one. We're all just lucky he doesn't suspect anything. Unfortunately, we've made little progress if any – a few converts, but nothing substantial. I'm hoping that with Megatron here on Earth, Straxus will take the initiative on Cybertron. For now, however, we have to worry about him here." He managed a small grin. "That beating you gave him and the others wasn't something he'll soon forgive."

"We're just lucky it was only the four of them." The yellow Lamborghini jerked his head in the direction of Kirtland. "I assume we have you to thank for Antler Head not unleashing a full orbital strike on Earth?"

The Seeker nodded. "I convinced him stealth was the better option, given human resilience. However, it won't last forever – unless he gets access to a number of Mini-Cons soon, he may rethink that option."

"Which is why you're here – to retrieve the Mini-Cons in the escape pod," the Autobot leader finally finished, following Starscream's train of thought.

"Exactly. I'm not comfortable with it either, but this will at least buy us some time. Besides, I'll need all the help I can get if Megatron takes things too far."

Optimus looked from his old friend to his small partner, thinking over his options. He knew Megatron, as well as his desire for power and his impatience – given enough losses, he would escalate the conflict, and as much as it pained the Autobot leader, he couldn't let that happen. "Very well, but we have to clear it with the Mini-Cons in the pod first. If any of them are harmed..."

"We'll just have to hope it doesn't come to that." Both larger Cybertronians looked on in surprise as Sparkplug jumped from the trailer down into the pit Starscream dug. "These things only open from the outside when forced, and forcing them isn't easy. You'll need me to do it, or risk damaging the internals. Besides, this way you two don't have to ask me to open it up and see who's inside."

Optimus nodded sadly, while Starscream smiled. "Thank you, Sparkplug."

The Mini-Con worked with grim determination, finding an access panel and keying in the required command codes. "Don't thank me yet, Screamer. Do it once Megatron's out of the picture for good."

* * *

"Well, Blurr, what do you think?"

The white-and-blue Autobot mulled over his answer as he walked back into the _Ark_ alongside Hot Shot and Jolt. While Portland was certainly a metropolis of its own right, it couldn't compare to Iacon in terms of size and population, but he could still glimpse similarities in various parts of the city and the way how the people lived their lives. "I'll say this for the humans, they know how to build cities. There is still some space for them to expand, however, though they probably need the open space more than we do."

"Considering the fact that they need to grow food and construction materials, they probably need all the space they can get." The two turned as Smokescreen and Red Alert approached. "They don't rely on just one substance for fuel, after all."

"I don't think they need a lecture, Red." The orange and grey mech nodded at the younger Autobots in greeting. "So, enjoyed your field trip?"

"Can't say we didn't," Hot Shot replied. "Where are Optimus and Scavenger?"

"They're inside, checking over some readings. It's possible that they may have confirmed the location of another Mini-Con escape pod."

The yellow racer relaxed slightly with the medic's news. "Well, good news for us, assuming the Decepticons don't get to it."

* * *

Megatron all but stormed through the barely lit halls of the _Nemesis_, optics narrowed. As he entered the command deck, they narrowed further to slits. "Thrust, report."

"I've had little success detecting the Autobots, sir. Most likely they are using a cloaking field, but interference–"

"The whereabouts of the Autobots are not my concern. Where is Starscream?"

The coneheaded Seeker looked up from the keyboard quickly. "I… don't know, sir." At his leader's displeased look, Thrust immediately turned back to his console. "Computer, locate unit Starscream!"

"_Unit Starscream is not present aboard this vessel – departed ten-point-seven kliks previous via orbital jump."_

The Decepticon warlord growled, prompting his subordinate to jump to his feet. "Lord Megatron, sir, please try to relax. I'm certain Starscream had a clear, logical reason for leaving the base. Perhaps he was going out in search of a Mini-Con stasis unit."

A frown. "Most likely to find them for himself." He turned to leave. "When he returns, Mini-Cons or no, he shall be dealt with, oh yes..."

* * *

If the yellow Lamborghini was expecting a happy reunion, he was glad that he wasn't after waking up his fellow Mini-Cons in this pod from stasis. The diminutive Armored Personnel Carrier looked ready to punch him after the alt-mode scanning and information installations were complete.

"Sparkplug, what the slag is going on?"

"At ease, Knock-Out, he's one of ours." The bulky Mini-Con relaxed as his equally-bulky commander turned to the yellow Mini-Con. "Sparkplug, if you have answers for us, I suggest you start giving them."

"It's a long story, Wreckage. The short version is, we've been found." Sparkplug looked among the six grimly. "We're on a planet called Earth, and have been for the last six million stellar cycles. One of the other pods finally had its distress beacon activated."

"Let me guess, your pod?" Blackout moaned. "Never were one to be without Optimus, were you?"

"I didn't activate it; some of this planet's natives did, by accident. Unfortunately, Megatron picked up on the signal almost immediately. We're just lucky Optimus arrived soon after, and that Megatron decided to bring Starscream with him."

"So, you're here with Prime, right?" Crumplezone looked at him with worried optics. "Right?"

The Mini-Con grew nervous. "Sort of. Starscream needs a favor from all of you."

A chorus of groans and protests sprung up among the gathered Mini-Cons, only to be silenced as another of them, grey and black and blue, raised his arms. "Hold, everyone. Let us hear what he has to say." He looked to Sparkplug and beckoned him on.

"Starscream's the only thing keeping the Decepticons from attacking the local population. Six billion or so organic beings, all about our size. Even with their military capabilities, they'd be easy pickings for Megatron. What Starscream needs is something to keep him appeased." He looked uneasily at the fifth member. "I'm sorry, Leader-1, but we need the six of you–"

"To what, be his playthings?" Knock-Out seethed. "Bad enough there are enough psychos among us who decided to serve him – now we're supposed to lay down and be his little slaves?"

"Do we really have much choice? It's not like it'll be for the rest of–"

"Hello! Megatron's still at large! What makes you think he won't keep us forever, or that Starscream can take him down?"

"What makes you think that he can't use some help to do exactly that?" The last of the Land Military Team looked at his teammate sternly. "If anyone can help him, it is we few."

Knock-Out glared at Bonecrusher in irritation, holding his gaze for a few seconds before relenting. "Fine, whatever, I'm in. But I want Screamer's word that we get a stab at Megatron someday, a chance to pay him back for getting stuck out here."

Sparkplug relaxed, very much relieved as he let his ventilation systems kick back in. "I think he can arrange that. Come on, we've got a job to do."

One by one, the seven Mini-Cons left the pod. Waiting at the rim, Optimus and Starscream knelt down and extended their hands to help them out from the hole. "I'm glad to see all of you online and in one piece. Especially you, Leader-1."

"Likewise. Sparkplug has explained the situation to us, Starscream. We have no enjoyment of your proposal, but we'll work with you. For now, at least."

"Just make sure that you can get us out of his grubby hands as soon as you can, Screamer, or you'll have to answer to us." A finger pointed at the Seeker threateningly.

The Seeker raised a placating hand. "I understand, Knock-Out. You have my word, you'll be free of Megatron at the earliest chance. For now, however, I need to make sure he can't easily notice my deception." His optics glowed. "I have a programming mask ready to install – a casual scan will make it appear that you've had shell programs installed to ensure your loyalty. It won't be much, and you'll need to do some careful acting, but it should suffice."

Leader-1 appeared hesitant before straightening with resignation. "Very well, let's get on with this." A few milliseconds later, twin beams shot out of Starscream's optics into Leader-1's optic bar. The download was brief, and as the beams cut off, the Mini-Con turned to his comrades and asked, "Next?"

"Are you sure this will work?" Optimus asked.

"I don't have many other options." As he began the next download, Starscream explained to his old friend, "I'm only fortunate there isn't anyone among Megatron's forces here who will be able to verify one way or another."

"Just as long as these things don't glitch our systems." As Blackout's download finished, the beams moved to Crumplezone.

"They shouldn't." The Seeker continued downloading as he spoke to Prime. "You and Sparkplug had best return to your base and give the other Autobots the relevant details. It'll be a little hard to explain if they detect an Autobot in the same area as my retrieval point, even harder being you."

"Agreed. Keep them safe, Starscream."

A quirked optic ridge. "No concern for me, Optimus?"

The Autobot leader chuckled. "I know you can take care of yourself, brother." He looked up as the orbital bounce engulfed him, his trailer and his partner before it soon dissipated, leaving no trace of him.

A small smile on his face, Starscream turned back to the Mini-Cons. "Alright, let's keep up the pace. We don't have much time."

* * *

Scavenger looked up as Optimus and Sparkplug materialized in the _Ark_'s transport chamber. He waited the needed few seconds before they regained themselves. "Any luck?"

"Some, and not all of it good." He stepped down from the pad and walked towards the hatch, Sparkplug already controlling the trailer to return to the armory. "Have everyone gather in the briefing room – I've got some important news."

The old bulldozer grimaced and followed. "Why am I not surprised?"

* * *

"Diana? You still with me?"

The young teacher blinked, returning her attention to her tablemate with a bit of a sheepish look. Kelly had called her earlier to meet at one of the local coffee shops for a cup, and she'd hardly been good company. "Sorry, Kelly, just thinking about a few things."

Her redheaded friend shook her head. "You worry too much, Diana. You need something."

Diana took a resigned sip from her coffee. "I have a hobby, Kelly, you know that."

"I'm not talking about your anime. What I mean is, you need a love life."

"I don't exactly have time for one. There's my job, the last bits for my doctorate, grading papers… No offense, but a teacher doesn't quite have the flexible hours of a TV news reporter."

"Then make time – you don't want to end up with nothing to your name but a doctorate, do you?" Kelly sighed. "How old are you again?"

"Thirty-three," Diana answered promptly.

"Exactly my point – you shouldn't be sitting in your apartment grading papers and petting your cat. You should at least be going out and meeting people." Her cell phone chimed, prompting her to answer. "Baumgartner here. But… Alright Jimmy, be there in ten." She hung up and gathered her things. "And you call my hours flexible." At her friend's smirk, she reiterated, "I'm not wrong. It wouldn't hurt for you to meet someone nice."

As her friend rushed off to her car, Diana continued to sip at her drink. "If only it were easy."

* * *

Starscream had been expecting Megatron's anger. He was more than prepared to be berated at for acting without authorization. What he was not expecting nor prepared for was to find himself slammed into the bulkhead, his cranium crushed hard into the wall.

"You left the ship!" The tyrant slammed his subordinate into the wall again for emphasis. "On your own! Without my direct authorization! Are you purposely trying my patience, Starscream?"

In an act aided by his abuse, the Seeker spoke lightly, trying to feign weakness. "No, Lord Megatron, I had no intention of circumventing your authority. I merely wished to make certain that we claimed a group of Mini-Cons for ourselves, before the Autobots got their hands on them. I thought one lone Decepticon would be less noticeable than the entire group."

His optics narrowed as he considered Starscream's claims and then released him, allowing the Seeker to slide to the ground. "You make an excellent counter-argument, Starscream. Seeing as you were successful, I will let it slide this one time. However, in the future, you will not leave this base without an escort. Is that clear?"

Starscream rose to a sitting position and nodded, rubbing his head ruefully. "Understood, milord."

"Excellent." The Decepticon then turned his attention to the Mini-Cons. "Now then, Mini-Cons. Who do you serve?"

At that point, the six snapped to attention and saluted. "Hail Lord Megatron, true leader of the Decepticons! We swear our loyalty to you!"

The warlord all but smiled as Starscream gave the smallest of disgusted expressions. The Mini-Cons were clearly laying it on a little too thick, but it did play onto Megatron's ego.

"Wonderful. I do enjoy it when my subordinates know where their loyalties lay. Now then, seeing as the Autobots have partnered themselves with individual Mini-Cons, it is only fitting that we do the same." He pointed to Crumplezone. "You shall go to Cyclonus." Finger landed in the direction of Blackout and the Land Military Team. "One of you shall go to Demolishor. The rest he may take into battle with him as a reserve." He then walked over to Leader-1 and picked him up rather roughly. "And I think you know where you are going." A compartment opened in Megatron's leg and he tossed the Mini-Con in without another word. "I feel better already. Now then, Starscream, I want you to modify Cyclonus and his new Mini-Con to aid in their connection. We must boost our arsenal as best we can. In the meantime, I shall begin plotting… strategy, yes."

Satisfied, Megatron exited the chamber, the remaining Decepticons moving to Starscream. "You really sizzled his circuits there. What were you thinking?"

As Demolishor helped him to stand, Starscream smiled. "One earns points for initiative as best he can, Cyclonus."

Thrust eyed his fellow Seeker suspiciously. "Your initiative almost landed you in the CR Chamber. You are fortunate Megatron chose to spare you."

"Perhaps, but I think it was worth it." The larger Seeker looked among his fellows. "Thank you, Demolishor. Seeing as you're going to be stuck with the four of them for a while, I suggest you get acquainted. Thrust, maintain sensor scans – the Autobots may be able to cloak their ship, but they cannot cloak themselves. Cyclonus, bring your new partner and come with me, as we have work to do in the repair bay."

As Starscream led the berserker and the Mini-Con out, Thrust shook his head in disgust before heading back to the command deck. Finding himself alone with the four remaining small Cybertronians, Demolishor knelt down and tried to give a friendly smile. "Well, he's right. I'm Demolisher… and the four of you are?"

* * *

_:"I regret that while your plan is not without merit, I cannot justify implementing it. I'm sorry, Wreckage, but if Tankor and Obsidian are correct, there are few Decepticons who would be willing to turn against Megatron. Too few to risk contacting them.":_

The Decepticon APC stared aghast at his leader. It was frustrating enough having to talk with his leader via comm.-channel from the field offices at the Hydrax Plateau, but having his proposal summarily rejected like this was not only irritating, but annoying as well. "Lord Straxus, forgive my protest, but surely if there is any chance, it should be…"

_:"I've made my decision. For now, we await word from Earth. Should Megatron be captured, we will re-evaluate.":_

The video cut off, leaving the familiar Decepticon faction marker upon it in Straxus' place and Wreckage to growl in protest, thumping the keyboard. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Those two have had his audio receptors for a long time." The Decepticon turned to his friend, a bulky green warrior with blades on his left arm and a quadruple-barreled cannon mounted on the other. "Don't expect him to listen to us warriors."

"I know, Brawl. Still, this is disappointing." His optics dimming, he asked, "I often wonder, old friend. Do you suppose Starscream would let something like this pass him by?"

The tank growled, his cannon activating for a moment. "Don't even bother thinking of that coward. He should've stepped up and taken Jhiaxus' place immediately, not slunk away and joined up with Megatron." He calmed himself down, albeit by very little. "If it were up to me, we'd slag the lot of them – no trials, no internment, just a quick blast through the spark cavity with a fusion cannon each, Megatron first and Starscream last. Him being the big hero aside, the mech abandoned us and took a lot of other mechs with him."

"None of them deserve that, and you know it – the intent behind an act is just as important as the act itself in a court of law. And whatever his reasons, I'd want Starscream brought before a court to explain them, especially given his ties to Optimus Prime and Jetfire." The white-and-red warrior tapped his chin as a something popped up in his processors. "A thought, old friend – Straxus has kept secrets from many, even from his advisors. You don't suppose there's another reason why Starscream and so many others joined Megatron so quickly following the Second War?"

"You mean as spies and infiltrators?" Brawl gave a cynical bark. "If that were true, we'd have seen the end of this long ago."

"Perhaps… but it would explain much." Wreckage turned skyward, barely making out the stars that were visible through the window of the small office. "I wonder if Megatron even suspects?"

* * *

As Starscream led Cyclonus and Crumplezone into the repair bay, Cyclonus began, "Anyway, I'm excited about this whole deal, Crumplezone. I can't wait to take you into battle and start kicking Auto-butt!"

"Whatever," Crumplezone replied flatly.

The helo looked at him in slight surprise as Starscream started up the equipment. "Why do you say that?"

"The Autobots have done nothing to me, and I doubt they have done anything truly heinous to you," Crumplezone pointed out. "I was reprogrammed by Starscream to be loyal to Megatron and his cause, and by extension of that to you. Thus, I will fight if ordered, I will Powerlink, and I will do what is needed for the cause. However, that does not mean I will enjoy my work."

"He brings up a few good points, Cyclonus," Starscream pointed out. "Now, Crumplezone, climb onto the examination table and transform please."

Crumplezone did as requested, and Starscream began a thorough scan of both Crumplezone and Cyclonus. Starscream studied over the results, and said, "According to these scans, the best point for a possible fusion would be where your chest currently is, Cyclonus. It should serve to give your vehicular mode a bit more firepower. Just relax a bit, and I'll be done in a few cycles."

"Uh, Starscream," Cyclonus asked while sitting onto the exam berth, "why are you fighting for Megatron?"

Starscream simply smiled cryptically as he arranged several instruments he had pulled out from their compartments. "A favor to an old friend."

* * *

Looking out over the lunar surface from his quarters, Megatron silently gazed up towards Earth high above. The sides were even now – at least four Autobots, five of his own troops, and twelve Mini-Cons divided between them. And on that tiny blue-green planet, hidden in its mountains and oceans and deserts, were dozens of Mini-Cons left to be retrieved, many already on his side by one method or another. Raw power, in the form of both troops and weaponry, just waiting to be found and utilized.

He remembered well his many lessons in service to the Decepticon military – that power was what won wars, what ended battles, what guided and defeated armies. He and the forces under him had turned back many invaders during the Outsider Wars, making them know the price for their foolishness in attacking Cybertron. The fact that the governing powers were lacking the foresight to simply hunt down and exterminate any remaining threats among the stars still galled him, and reminded him that if they would not act to protect their world, he would. With the Mini-Cons at his side, he would finally complete his crusade and turn Cybertron into the center of a galaxy-spanning empire. The fleshlings living upon that mudball were no concern, their weaponry be damned. The Autobots, especially Prime, were another matter, and one that needed to be dealt with swiftly and decisively.

A grim smile crossed his face. "Then let it be done."

* * *

"Gah! Aaaagh! Watch where you're pointing that auto-welder, Starscream! The circuits are – yagh! – sensitive in there!"

The Seeker vented a sigh as he adjusted the temperature settings. Really, Cyclonus was acting like a sparkling on its first maintenance check. "If you'd keep still, this would go much faster. Crumplezone is at least being reasonable about all this."

Said Mini-Con snickered darkly, although Starscream wasn't sure if it was at Cyclonus's expense or out of genuine mirth.

"Yeah, well, all you did with him was install some connection ports – YEOW! – and increase his servo rotation radius!"

"And what I've done with you is install the needed components to properly interlock with those same modifications. We're just fortunate that your body frame and alternate mode can accept the modifications." With one final adjustment, punctuated by a squeal from his patient, Starscream set aside his tools. "We're done. Now, we need a test."

Without saying a word, Crumplezone transformed, the compatible parts on Cyclonus shifting to accommodate him as the Mini-Con linked up at the larger mech's chest.

"So I get a tiny gun, big deal. I've got all the firepower I need."

"You're also more aerodynamic. That will prove more than useful the next time we're on Earth."

"A very true statement, Starscream." The repair bay hatch closed behind Megatron as he strode in. "I assume you have completed modifications?"

The Mini-Con popping from his place on Cyclonus' chest, the Seeker gestured. "I just finished them."

"Excellent. I have a mission for Cyclonus of the utmost importance." The berserker snapped to attention as his leader continued, "You and your Mini-Con are to scout the human settlement near the area where the first Mini-Con pod was found. It is likely that we will find the humans who found the first few Mini-Cons in that area. Once you have found them, chase them away from the settlement so that we may capture them and any Mini-Cons present, and then interrogate them."

Starscream's optics widened slightly as he listened. "Forgive my speaking out, sir, but what if they don't have any Mini-Cons, and what if they know nothing of any value?"

"Then we can use them as a bargaining chip against Optimus Prime – I doubt he has the willingness to risk a few measly human lives just to keep the Mini-Cons. He'll either hand them over to us, or I will crush them in my own two hands." He turned to Cyclonus and barked, "Now depart, immediately!"

Crumplezone's optics narrowed slightly in anger, although he refrained from vocalizing it. Starscream, meanwhile, tried his best to maintain a neutral expression.

"Yes sir, Megatron, I won't let you down!" Cyclonus immediately rushed out of the chamber. Crumplezone followed reluctantly, his optics narrowed in frustration.

Once his leader was out of hearing distance, chuckling as he went, Starscream slammed a fist onto the console. "Slag!"

* * *

Just outside of a small McDonalds, Rad slid to a halt on the bike. "Hey guys!"

"What took you so long?" Alexis asked, tossing a cup into the trash can.

The young man gave a small nudge towards his ride. "Someone insisted on me getting homework taken care of before I came. Anyway, it's done. We all ready to show the guys around?"

"We've been ready." Alexis glanced down towards her moped. "I wish we could take them more places, though. Malls, museums, movie theaters, but they're all out of the question. I don't even think drive-ins exist anymore…"

"Hey, don't sweat it!" Their third was rather eager, one foot firmly on the ground and the other upon a large skateboard. "We've still got parks, right? Plenty of space, and no chance of these three getting spotted."

"Okay then, a park it is." Just as Rad was about to turn his bike in the direction of the nearest park, he stopped and looked up. "Hey guys, you hear that? Sounds like a helicopter."

The young girl shrugged dismissively as she settled onto her vehicle. "Probably just a news chopper checking on traffic."

Suddenly, the orange moped gave an alarmed chirp, her internal sensors registering the incoming object. "Would a news chopper head directly towards us at a low altitude, or have an Energon-based power core?"

The three children stared at one another in panic and held onto their vehicles tightly when they immediately peeled out – in Carlos' case, Grindor had snapped foot bindings around the boy's feet to keep him strapped in. High above, his rotors spinning and his sensors primed, Cyclonus found them and followed, salvos of blaster fire coming from Crumplezone. "Well, what do you know – less than five kliks on the job and I find what I'm looking for! Now stay still, fleshies, I'm not gonna hurt you! MUCH!"

The human trio and their Mini-Con friends, however, soon found themselves heading into Portland proper, the many buildings helping to conceal them from above. Hiding and moving wouldn't save them, but it would buy them some time…

* * *

Still nursing her coffee, Diana couldn't help but think that her friend was right. It certainly wouldn't hurt to have a little more in her life. After all, it's not like it was all that exciting…

Her thoughts were interrupted as Rad, Carlos, and Alexis zoomed past with what looked like sheer panic on their faces. By reflex she jumped back, glad that she'd drunk enough coffee to not risk spilling it onto herself. Before she could even begin to speculate why the three were moving so quickly, her question was answered as a large military-styled helicopter zipped right after them, a burst of fire shredding concrete and asphalt, as well just barely missing both students and various obstacles in the street.

It took a couple seconds to recognize what was going on, but not much longer to ask why it was happening. Whatever the reasons, three of her students were being attacked… and she couldn't sit back and watch. Diana immediately tossed her cup aside and ran to her car.

* * *

Swiftly weaving into an alley, humans and Mini-Cons took a minute to rest and catch their breath.

"Did we lose him?" Carlos looked down at his Mini-Con ride with fear in his eyes. "Please tell me we lost him!"

"Don't think so, sorry." As his friend groaned, Grindor asked, "Anyone reading the same as me, or am I just imagining the Mini-Con linked up with him?"

"They must've found a pod of their own." Engine noise not unlike a bitter growl sounded from Sureshock. "Any suggestions? I know running is our only option right now, but where?"

"Towards the city limits – we'll be exposed, but at least we can minimize the damage." High Wire tensed beneath Rad. "Whatever happens, however, you three will need to flee – there's no telling what the Decepticons will do to you."

"What? We can't just abandon you!"

Before the bicycle could argue her point further, the sound of rotor blades stopped her, followed quickly by the sounds of tires screeching and the arrival of a silver Ford SUV. The right side front passenger door opened, a familiar face leaning out. "Kids! Get in!"

Alexis gaped in shock. "Ms. Masters?"

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Alexis!" Picking up the Mini-Con and carrying her into the vehicle, Rad rushed forward. Carlos, Alexis and the other Mini-Cons followed in turn, piling into the vehicle before it drove off.

Ascending, Cyclonus found no sign of the children but quickly took note of the SUV that had rushed away from the other side of the alley they'd retreated into. "Well, things just got a lot easier." The berserker moved to follow, picking up speed as he went. "Cyclonus to Megatron, come in!"

* * *

_:"...I've located three of the Mini-Cons! They're in a human ground transport, one of those sport utility things!":_

Megatron hadn't expected such swift results. Still, he was not about to complain. "Excellent, Cyclonus – follow them wherever they go. Once that vehicle's fuel supply runs out, we will have them!" The line cut off, and he turned to his gathered troops. "Decepticons, prepare for orbital jump!"

* * *

"Okay kids, I want a few explanations." Her eyes on the road and praying for as few red lights as possible, Diana all but barged her way onto one of the major city arteries that led towards open areas. "First of all, why is there what looks like a combat helicopter chasing after you three?"

The trio shared an uneasy look, already realizing the futility of keeping things a secret. Rad ultimately admitted, "It's kind of a long story."

"Sum it up then – no telling how long it'll be before that thing shoots at us." The teacher stole a glance at her rear-view mirror every couple seconds, glad that the helicopter hadn't continued shooting.

"Then clearly, we don't have much choice." Much to Diana's surprise, the three vehicles began changing shapes and took on humanoid forms, albeit with some obvious difficulty due to the lack of space. She barely managed to keep her mind on the road despite the shock. As he and his comrades tried their best to settle into the vehicle despite cramped conditions, the former skateboard looked forward and elaborated, "Easy, miss, we aren't going to hurt anyone. I'm Grindor, and this is High Wire and Sureshock."

"We're Mini-Cons, sentient robots from a planet called Cybertron." High Wire gestured upwards. "That vehicle, we think, is a Decepticon, a larger robot from the same planet – many of them want to enslave us."

The woman blinked at the robots in surprise by her rear-view mirror. "Alien robots that transform. Okay, I can deal with this." She gave a quick glance to the boy beside her. "When we aren't being chased by a giant robot death machine, you three are going to have a _lot_ of explaining to do. Right now, just tell me that one is the only one."

"No, there's four or five of them that want these guys," Rad answered. "But they aren't the only giant robots – there's another bunch, called the Autobots, they're the good guys."

"Explain the rest to me later. High Wire, can you contact these Autobot friends of yours?"

"Yes – we've been sending a signal to them since we were spotted. They should have received it by now."

"Good. Hang tight, I'm heading for the city limits – from the way I saw that thing shoot, I don't want to risk someone else getting hit." Finally finding her way towards one of the less-crowded highways, she floored the gas pedal. "Well Carlos, you've got your aliens."

Glancing back and easily noticing Cyclonus in the rear window, the young boy gulped. "Yeah… Good for me…"

* * *

"Wait, Starscream's on our side?" Hot Shot's expression was one of clear shock and surprise. "Sir, I know you and he have history, but how can you trust him?"

"Bitlet's got a point, boss bot. Hero of the First Great War or not, he did decide to join up with Megatron," Smokescreen added, arms crossed as he regarded his leader.

The Autobot commander raised a calming hand. "I understand your concerns. Under other circumstances, I'd be similarly worried. However, I know Starscream, and I trust him."

The gathered Autobots and Mini-Cons within the _Ark_'s conference room looked among themselves, the younger ones more worried than their elders. It was only with Scavenger's chuckle that the silence broke. "Always thought Straxus would have the sense to have a mole or two, especially as we had some of our own. I wasn't expecting it to be Starscream."

"For all the good it's done – millions of stellar cycles, and he's done little if anything to permanently stop Megatron." Blurr glanced a bit skeptically at his commander. "And even if he is telling the truth, what do we do now?"

"For the time being, we do what we can to find the Mini-Cons and stop Megatron before he can get to them. The more we retrieve safely, the less under Megatron's control and the fewer for Starscream to keep track of." Optimus moved to a computer terminal and keyed in a few commands. "Two have already been retrieved, but that still leaves several–"

An alarm rang out from the communications terminal, prompting Red Alert to answer. "It's an emergency transmission from the Street Action Team! They're under pursuit and headed towards the lava fields!"

Further words didn't need to be spoken. Optimus moved towards the exit hatch and called out, "Autobots, Mini-Cons, roll out!"

* * *

As her SUV continued tearing towards the lava fields, Diana almost couldn't believe what she'd gotten herself into. The one thing she was rather grateful for was buying the second-hand sports-utility vehicle, even though the dealer seemed a tad bit shady. "So you three were awakened by the kids yesterday, and the larger robots followed within the hour?"

Jostled slightly as the vehicle turned to avoid a rock, Sureshock couldn't help but ask, "Something about that seem implausible?"

"No, it just suggests you guys use something other than radio waves for communication. Those things travel at the speed of light, but they'd take a little over four years to reach the nearest star. Tachyons don't work, but…" Noticing the amazement in the eyes of her students, she quirked an eyebrow. "What?"

"Ms. Masters, you teach history. How do you know all this science fiction stuff?"

"I dated a physicist in college." Anticipating Rad's next question, she added, "And my roomie was very big into esoteric, pseudo-archaeological concepts. Accepting shapeshifting, extraterrestrial robots gets a little easier compared to some of the stuff we talked about." Noticing a strange blue glow in the sky that looked rather ominous, she swerved in an attempt to avoid it. "Hang tight!"

The optics on the three Mini-Cons blanked off as the blue light, a beam of directed energy, hit the car and gave the humans the sensation of being near a Van de Graaff generator. The engine quickly died, leaving the SUV to coast to a stop under its momentum. Diana and the kids looked around as the small Cybertronians came back online.

"Why'd we stop? Put the pedal to the metal already!" Carlos was all but gripping the passenger seat with white knuckles.

"We're stuck." Attempting to restart the car produced no results, just an unhappy noise. Diana turned back to the Mini-Cons. "Let me guess, that was some kind of directed electromagnetic pulse?"

High Wire nodded. "Correct. I'm afraid we can't run any further."

The sounds of jet engines and heavy tanks caught their attention, prompting the group to look towards the east. On the empty plains nearby, a large green tank and a mobile artillery emplacement charged towards them, a large red jet and a smaller green one flying above. The helicopter joined them as the lead tank opened fire, blasting away some of the surrounding rocks.

"Excellent work, Cyclonus. Decepticons, transform!" One by one, the five vehicles transformed and stood upon the ground, their robotic forms towering menacingly over Diana's SUV and its occupants. Megatron's optics narrowed as he looked upon the primitive transport, his fusion cannon primed and aimed. "Fleshlings, your transport is disabled. Leave it and surrender the Mini-Cons, or perish."

The kids were terrified. Diana was as well, though doing a better job of concealing it. "Ideas beyond dying horrible deaths, anyone?"

Noticing a glimmer in the distance, Grindor suddenly brightened. "Yeah – open the back hatch and get ready for the king of all cold reboots!"

The Decepticon leader snarled, his cannon beginning to power up. "My patience is wearing thin." His sensors, however, quickly alerted him to incoming vehicles. "Demolishor, Thrust, deal with our guests!"

The two Decepticons readied their weapons as a group of six vehicles approached from the east, a familiar red semi in the lead. The semi transformed and fired after whipping out his ion cannon. As the two dodged, Optimus called out, "Still picking on beings smaller than yourself, Megatron! Feeling bored, or are you too afraid to stand optic to optic with your enemy?"

A dark laugh. "Prime! I wondered when you would join us." He fired his fusion cannon and declared, "Powerlink and attack!" As Blackout and the Land Military Team linked up with Demolishor and Crumplezone switched positions on his own partner, the Autobots transformed with their forward momentum as they sped in, Jolt and Rollbar linking up with their own partners. His own new partner ejecting from his storage bay and linking up, Megatron sneered, "You no longer have the advantage, Optimus! Hold your mechs at bay, or the fleshlings will be destroyed!"

Suddenly, an electric flash fired off from the SUV, the back hatch popping open and Grindor jumping out. Slamming it closed behind him, he leapt over the Ford's roof and landed on its hood, switching to vehicle mode as a Powerlinx port formed upon it with metal groaning. Just as the Decepticons noticed the skateboard linking up, the Earth-based car roared to life and tore away in a cloud of dust. Before they could react, the Autobots opened fire, keeping the Decepticons from pursuing.

As the two factions poured fire upon each other, the gathered Autobots moved to cover where they could find it. His weapons fixed and firing on Megatron, Optimus ordered, "Red Alert, follow that vehicle and get the occupants to safety! We'll cover you!"

The medic wordlessly complied, speeding off after Diana's SUV.

* * *

"Of all the insane plans… A forced Powerlink conversion and restart?" Sureshock all but yelled in consternation.

"Whatever your friend did, it worked!" Her foot jammed firmly on the gas pedal and hands clamped on the steering wheel, Diana charged away from the battle as best she could over the bumpy terrain. "I take it that second group was the Autobots?"

"Just in the nick of time." High Wire looked back at the battle. "However, given the Decepticons have Mini-Cons of their own now, they'll need help. We can't risk stopping your vehicle with Grindor still linked up, however…"

_:"However, I may be able to assist with that.":_

The unfamiliar British-accented voice caught Diana by surprise, especially given it had issued from her speakers. "Grindor didn't bring my car to life, did he?"

_:"No ma'am, I'm merely speaking through your radio.":_ At that second, a white SUV with red medical markings pulled alongside the human vehicle. _:"Follow me, quickly!":_

Taking the Autobot's advice, Diana followed him into a rocky outcropping. She quickly turned off her vehicle and filed out with the kids as Grindor disconnected and Red Alert transformed. "I'm glad you children are… I apologize, you are?"

"Diana Masters – I'm their teacher." Her parents didn't raise her to be without manners.

An acknowledging tilt of his head. "Red Alert, Autobot Medical Corps."

"Delighted. Now, about my car…"

"Emergency Powerlinx upgrade, fastest way to repair the damage from the EMP burst. It should run fine now, maybe better than before." His chagrin-laced explanation given, Grindor turned to the medic and asked, "We going back in or what?"

* * *

Starscream charged with his sword drawn. His feet spaced wide and firmly dug into the ground, Scavenger simply raised one arm and caught the blade with little fanfare, the sword digging into his treads but causing little true damage. "How long do you think you can keep this up? Gathering the Mini-Cons and keeping them like this… What makes you think you can actually get away with it?"

The old bulldozer shoved the Seeker away, his opponent quickly recovering. The Decepticon gave a smug grin. "A mech tries not to think of the consequences of failure."

The Autobot smirked back. "Pray that you don't fail, then."

As the two older warriors fought, Thrust swooped overhead, strafing Blurr from above. Even as the Autobot ducked around cover, the Decepticon moved to follow, taking advantage of his alternate mode's hovering capabilities and maintaining heavy fire. His young opponent, meanwhile, could only make a few shots to counter him. "The advantage is lost, Autobot! You have no means to defeat me, no effective weaponry, no chance of–!"

The Seeker's boasts were interrupted as Blurr managed to hit the Decepticon's exposed hoverfan. As he transformed to compensate, two more precision shots landed on his faceplate, knocking him offline and sending him to the ground. Feeling much better, the sniper turned his sights to the next target.

Cyclonus cackled with glee as he hovered over the battlefield and fired blaster rounds at Hot Shot, the young Autobot moving to dodge where he could. "What's the matter, little Autobot, can't risk shooting one of the Mini-Cons? Too afraid that you'll hurt one of your partner's little buddies? Well, I'm not afraid of –!"

Twin shots tore through the helicopter's tail rotor blades seconds before Jolt connected with his partner's main Powerlinx port, activating the yellow Autobot's cannon. A single missile flew and struck hard against the Decepticon's main rotor, sending him into free-fall.

"You just gotta know where to hit." His visor flipping up, Hot Shot caught sight of his fellow recruit and flashed a thumbs-up.

Completely linked up with his partner and the Land Military Team, Demolishor rolled backwards, partially transforming back to robot mode and firing off a massive volley of rockets and bullets against the gathered Autobots. Both younger Autobots moved to opposite sides to avoid incoming bullets, their instructor just out of range of the smaller projectiles, while Smokescreen just gave a cheeky grin and activated a scanning dish on one arm. A loud pulse went through the air, and the various missiles careened off course and crashed into one another, exploding harmlessly.

"Want some advice, lad?" His crane unfolding into a long-barreled cannon, the Autobot took hold of what was once the crane's hook as a targeting reticule formed over his right optic. "Quantity is fun, but all you need is one good shot." The long cannon fired a single projectile that went flying into the Decepticon warrior, the cannon's barrel collapsing with recoil. The impact sent Demolishor flying backwards and skidding to a halt on the ground.

The fallen warrior weakly lifted his head. "Lucky shot!" He then collapsed once more, defeated. If the Autobots turned up their audials, they could almost hear snickering from the linked-up Mini-Cons.

* * *

His trailer unfolding into a mobile battle station, Optimus continued laying down fire upon his old enemy, dodging to one side or another as each blast came. Megatron, however, chuckled. "As much as our occasional clashes amuse me, Prime, I did not come here for entertainment! Leader-1, engage secondary Powerlink!" With those words, the Decepticon's Mini-Con partner dislodged himself from the tyrant's right arm before landing on the ground. Meanwhile, Megatron's components changed, his tank turret flipping around to the front and forming a rotating cannon unit, a dual missile launcher deploying alongside his fusion cannon with the Mini-Con's reconnect. "The game ends here!"

As his rival unleashed the full fury of his weapons upon the surrounding landscape, tearing apart rocks and kicking up dirt, the Autobot leader countered, "You're half-right – this is no game, but this battle ends now!"

At an unspoken command, his trailer changed modes again, collapsing inwards as its components were reallocated to form a massive pair of legs. As it changed forms, two sets of gun turrets were deployed from each leg, providing cover as Optimus transformed once more, his legs changing into arms and his back forming the chest to a massive torso piece before linking up with the trailer. A second head, two antennae at its sides resembling exhaust pipes, sprung up as Sparkplug linked up with a port on one of his partner's shoulders. His super mode online, the Autobot leader leveled his ion cannon, now appearing much smaller thanks to his larger size, and fired.

As the two combatants continued, Diana and the kids watched from their hiding place with awestruck expressions. "This is unreal! Is it always like this?" Rad gawked.

"Not always – Megatron usually withdraws by now!" High Wire answered, flinching a bit when she forgot to duck a stray rock.

Meanwhile, the exchange of fire continued. Both Optimus and Megatron remained standing, neither attacker seeming to gain the upper hand on the other. However, the battle was beginning to strain both of them, as both were rather out of practice on being linked up with Mini-Cons. "Give it up, Prime – this was over before it even began!"

"Never!" A blast winging his side, Optimus retaliated with a shot from one of his turrets. "I won't stand by and let you harm the inhabitants of this world, or continue to enslave the Mini-Cons! The Quintessons learned in ages past that the desire for freedom and justice cannot be extinguished! I taught them that long ago, and I'll be more than happy to do the same for you!"

Harsh laughter from the tyrant. "You expect me to be felled by flowery prose? How pathetic!" Switching gears, he charged up a massive burst and fired his fusion cannon directly at the connection port between Optimus and his trailer.

However, the attack never hit as a small robotic form appeared in front of Optimus, a shimmering force field going up between it and the beam. The Decepticon tyrant's shot dissipated and the smoke cleared to reveal Perceptor. The Street Action Team had combined on seeing the attack and was barely able to create the barrier in time – mentally, they realized they needed to start practicing again or they might not be as lucky in the future. "Heed his words, Megatron – your cycles are numbered." The Mini-Con gestalt then charged towards the surprised Decepticon, delivering a powerful fist to the warlord's face that sent him sprawling onto his back.

Optimus separated and his trailer unfolded back into a command platform while Starscream skidded to a halt beside the fallen Decepticon leader, having had his fill of battling Scavenger. As the Autobots gathered, weapons aimed, Megatron growled. "Fine – the fleshlings are of no concern. Decepticons… retreat."

The gathered Decepticons and their Mini-Con allies disappeared one by one, Starscream giving the smallest of smiles as he faded away. Relieved, the Autobot leader looked among his troops. "Everyone alright?"

"All Autobots, Mini-Cons and humans online and accounted for." Red Alert walked toward the gathered group, Diana and her students in tow. "Along with one extra. Optimus Prime, this is Diana Masters – she's the children's history teacher."

Despite herself, the young woman couldn't help but look up in awe at the gathered Cybertronians. She almost didn't notice as Optimus knelt down before her and offered a hand, his pinky finger extended. "Miss Masters. My apologies for what you've seen today. Please, believe me when I say I had no intention of putting anyone on your world in danger."

"You don't need to apologize. After all, you weren't the one shooting at us." Diana took the offered finger, patting it comfortingly. "Just try to forgive me if I sound a little awestruck – this is my first time meeting beings from another planet."

"Well, you're handling it about as well as the kids did." Scavenger gave her an approving nod. "Hopefully, you'll be willing to help keep our secret. We don't need the publicity right now."

A thought occurring to her, Diana suddenly grew worried. "That may not last very long. A helicopter flying through the outskirts of a major city and blowing up streets is just begging to be noticed. I wouldn't be surprised if all that ends up all over the Internet, or worse."

The Autobot leader nodded, understanding her concern. "We'll deal with the fallout when it comes. For now, it would be best for you to get the children home."

A smile from the teacher. "That I can do. I'd like a favor in return though, for all this. You'll have to forgive me, but I'm curious by nature. I'd like to know more about all of you – your world, history, culture, anything you can tell me."

The corners of Optimus' optics crinkled in delight. "I think we can work something out."

* * *

Elsewhere, hidden away from prying eyes, footage taken by a cellphone streamed over a projection screen. No sound was heard, but somewhat pixilated images of an SUV being chased by a heavily-armed helicopter were clear as day. Two men sat watching the projection, both looking to be in their forties though one appeared to be older than the other.

"Well, ain't this a kick in the shins." The footage froze on the helicopter. "No direct match in the military inventory, prototype or off the assembly line, and with the same markings as the one from Roswell. We'll call this guy NBE-02 and step up surveillance. Shouldn't be a problem."

"After almost sixty years without so much of a glimpse at these things, Reg? Something's up here – you and I both know it. Whatever's going on, we need to approach this carefully."

"With alien machines running around on US soil?" The aforementioned Reg gestured wildly. "What are we supposed to do, wait and watch until they start invading? England at least has the sense to start shooting these things."

"They also stand the chance of making enemies we don't need. Considering we have troops fighting two wars in the Middle East right now, I don't want us making things worse. For now, we inform the President of what we know and wait."

"What we know? That some alien chopper was chasing after an SUV in Portland? Oh yeah, Dubya's gonna be happy to hear that, Tom."

His eyes on the second vehicle, Tom leaned forward. "Speaking of, can we get a clear image of that SUV's license plate?"

"What, you think these things register with the DMV?" came the snarky response.

"No, but I want to check. Just because that helicopter is a likely NBE doesn't mean the SUV is, and if it has an owner, they might be worth keeping an eye on. After all, combat helicopters don't just chase cars for the fun of it."

Reg looked at his coworker with disbelief before shrugging. "Fine. It's not like S7 has anything else worth worrying about. Still, mark my words – these things are gonna be trouble."

The End


End file.
